Students of St. Angela Merici School in Metairie have much to be thankful during this Thanksgiving season. In October, Principal Colleen S. Remont received an exciting letter from the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children.

Suprya Jindal, wife of Gov. Bobby Jindal, teaches first-graders at St. Angela Merici School in Metairie. Her foundation, in partnership with Walmart, donated four interactive whiteboards for the school's first and second grade classrooms.

The foundation and its charter partner, Walmart, had selected St. Angela to receive four interactive whiteboards, two for the first grade classrooms and two for the second grade classrooms. “We were thrilled at this opportunity,” Remont said. “One of our goals this year, with the funds raised through our Parents’ Club, is to have interactive whiteboards in every classroom, so it was very exciting to get these four.”

In addition to the Promethean interactive whiteboards, each of the four selected classrooms received a laptop, a projector, a speaker system and an interactive response system. Remont explained that the individual “voting” devices of the response system allow each student to answer and participate in a discussion. The answers are then tallied and the teacher gets immediate feedback on the class’s understanding or mastery of the subject.

The foundation also provided pre-loaded flip charts and software, installation of the equipment, and on-going training for the faculty. The training will include at least one eight-hour, professional development day where teachers will learn to use the boards to their fullest capabilities.

On Nov. 9, the first and second grade students received another treat, a visit from Supriya Jindal, wife of Gov. Bobby Jindal. She stopped by to teach a class to the first-graders using the new interactive whiteboards and to visit with the second grade classes. Although all of the children were excited to meet the governor’s wife and anxious to learn about the new additions to their classrooms, many of the second-graders were equally curious about the Louisiana state troopers providing security for Jindal.

Other guests on hand to commemorate Jindal’s visit and the foundation’s presentation included St. Angela’s pastor and associate pastor, Monsignor Ken Hedrick and the Rev. Marlon Mangubat; St. Angela parents and school board members Gerald and Nicole Sachitano, Jill Villarrubia and Damien Mandella; and School Tech consultant Steve Carter. Faculty and staff members who attended include Remont, Joan Madere, Jackie Appleton, first grade teachers Diane Dupuis and Faith Kyame and second grade teachers Martha Toups and Jodi Fedele.

Walmart and its philanthropic Walmart Foundation partnered with the Jindal Foundation on this presentation to St. Angela. Explaining that the Walmart Foundation is “focused on serving the community through improving education,” Ken Cartwright, director of operations for Louisiana, said. “This is why we are honored to support the Supriya Jindal Foundation to further the efforts of education of children in Louisiana by bringing exciting, leading edge technology to their classroom.”

First grade teachers Dupuis and Kayme, as well as second grade teachers Toups and Fedele, have an average of 20 students per class. The educators began utilizing the interactive white boards the first week they received them in a variety of subjects, including math, language arts, and science.

Elaine Binder is a Bucktown resident who writes stories of community interest. Please contact her at Elaine@Bucktownandbeyond.com or 504.296.1080.